I will be enroute to Calgary tomorrow (Thursday, July 1st) for the Canmore World Cup (Saturday/Sunday) and the Track Nationals (Friday/Saturday/Sunday). We will be providing live reports on both events all weekend, plus the start of the Tour de France on Saturday.

Technical Problems

We had a technical problem with our e-mail server over the last 24 hours, so please don't be alarmed if we are taking longer than usual to respond, or post news that you sent. It has been fixed, and (we hope) everything is back to normal.

Ontario Crit Championships

There has been calls regarding if we are having the July 3rd event as well as the July 4th event. The calls have said that there is nothing on your calendar about the July 3rd Delki Dozzi event which is on the same sanction as the Provincial Criterium Championships. Could you please update your calendar to note the July 3rd event as well, we want people to know that there is two days of racing up here for them and it's well worth their drive here.

Regards,Sandra Kleppe

Volunteers Needed

Hi all, we're winding up here at Trilife for the Phat 12 hours of Kelso this coming weekend, lot's to be done!! This is a shout out to anyone interested in doing a volunteer shift during the event. We've never turned a volli away, and don't plan to start now! We need all sorts of people, young and old for a variety of duties. Volunteers not only get free admission to the park but also get an event T-shirt and a small bag o' swag (pronounce "SHWAAAG"). And the best part is that it's only a 12 hr race, so no 4 AM shifts!! If you're interested, please feel free to stop in, the race starts at noon Saturday, first volunteer meeting is at 11:40. Just ask for Flash, Donovan or McFoo. Thanks,

Foo

Kids of Mud - June 29th(courtesy Dave Benson)

Finally, after four years we REALLY got muddy. The race was postponed for 15 minutes to allow a thunder storm with associated lightening to pass through, but then the rain flowed freely on our Manitoba Gumbo River course at Labarriere Park in Winnipeg. The riders were slip sliddin' their way around the three kilometer course with many literally squirming off the track. It reminded me an advertisement from a major bike company a few years back, "The last time you came home looking like this you got spanked!" In spite of the weather, or perhaps because of the weather everyone had a great time!

The MCA race scheduled to follow was cancelled, disappointing a few hard core riders that showed up inspite of heavy rain in parts of the city.

2:00pm - 6:00pm ( I believe that the Juvenile Series goes off at 3:00pm)Cost: $10 for non-members, covers insurance and allows participants to become associate members of Cycling BC Those with memberships, entry cost is a mere $3.20

The Juvenile Road Racing Series is a 3 race series of events that was successfully kicked off with the Atomic Criterium, June 5. The series is based upon the ultra-successful High School Mountain Bike events, with a bid to entice newcomers to the fast-paced sport of road racing by exposing kids to high calibre events.

Participants can take part on any type of road worthy bike, as witnessed by the wide variety of machinery seen at the Atomic Criterium, with BMX bikes racing alongside road bikes. Enthusiastic crowds watched as the kids battled out it for top bragging rights. When the day was over, all participants walked away with dozens of prizes, kindly donated by Powerbar and Pepsi.

One of the primary goals of the series is to bring new faces into the sport of road racing, a discipline that has seen its numbers dwindle in recent years, perhaps seduced by the call of the wild in Off-Road Racing.

The remaining two events, the Tour de White Rock Criterium, July 10 and the Riverport Grand Prix, August 15, promise both excellent courses and a high number of spectators. As an added bonus, juvenile racers that take part in the Riverport Grand Prix will get Silver City movie passes free with their entry! Can't beat that!

A few weeks ago I wrote to announce the opening of the world's first Internet Pro-Cycling Art Gallery featuring Jeremy Mallard's superb pictures of some of the great riders.

I am sure you will be interested to learn that Jeremy Mallard has just finished work on two exciting new paintings:

1. Bobby Julich riding in a time trail during the 1998 Tour de France. This was his second appearance in the Tour and he achieved a magnificent 3rd place. The title of the picture is: 'Looking for the Limit.' The print can be viewed at: http://www.penandthink.co.uk/julich.htm

2. The great Italian rider Michele Bartoli in the Maglia Rosa as leader of the 1998 Giro dâ€šItalia. The title of the picture is: 'In the Pink' The print can be viewed at: http://www.penandthink.co.uk/bartoli.htm

We have had nearly 3,000 visitors since the Gallery opened on 24th March. The gallery can be found at: http://www.penandthink.co.uk/

If you don't know Jeremy's work you will be interested to learn that his cycling pictures are owned by legendary cyclists Bernard Hinault, Sean Kelly, Sean Yates, Barry Hoban, Eddie Merckx and Hugh Porter. His pictures hang in boardrooms, museums, art galleries and private collections all over the world.

TONIGHTâ€šS EVENT returned to the popular team format, with most of the "fast guys" moving up to the Wednesday events. Fast old guy, Alex Pond, showed heâ€šs no slouch by scoring points in 5 of the 8 primes and winning two of them. There were no serious breakaway attempts except by ex OCA TD, Tim Farrar, who also took two primes. He was pulled in by the last lap and Duncan Newman was a clear winner, with Bramptonâ€šs Tony Hammen clinching second and newcomer Wayne Henry, Madonna rounding out the top 3.

The first two laps were really slow and most of the race was ridden at around 40 kph. Cadets Ryan De Boer, Mississauga and Dan Clarke, Ind., had no trouble staying with the pack and Ryan placed fourth in a couple of the primes and 7th. Overall with Dan finishing in the main pack.

Thanks to all the usual helpers for contributing to the ongoing success of the novice series.